HOME | DD

Description
It was the most enchanted night of the year. Johnny walked slowly through the house’s garden, stepping nervously on each of the stones that formed the way to the door. The decreasing moon was shining behind the building.

He was shaking, but not because of cold. He was afraid. Which was an obvious thing, since he was only seven years old and he’d heard the mansion was haunted. Johnny didn’t like ghosts and he hated Halloween, but his friends had insisted on playing there that night, October the 31st, and had called him a coward when he had admitted to be afraid. Johnny wondered why he had done that. He should have said nothing about his dreads – then his friends would have not been able to mock him. The worst part was he had lost.

As an entertainment to spend a different Halloween night, the kids had suggested playing hide-and-seek in the abandoned house. The same house that, according to the people from the village, was full of ghosts. Johnny hadn’t wanted to come all along, fearing something bad could happen, but the others had started deciding who was going to be the searcher, ignoring his complaints. Only Dana had listen to Johnny’s words without laughing, but it had been useless – they were two versus three and the majority won.

So, after the four kids, including Dana, had gone into the mansion to hide, little Johnny had no choice but to obey and look for them.

He took two more steps. He was now in front of the enormous gate. He lifted his hand in order to open it, but deep inside, he hoped it would be shut, so he didn’t have to take part in such a hideous game.

The door opened a little with a single touch of his fingers. Of course, he thought: the other children had entered the house before he did so that they could hide. How could he have forgotten?

There was no turning back. He had to get in and start searching. He swallowed noisily and rubbed his hands to keep himself warm, and then, Johnny closed his eyes, pushed the door and finally got into the mansion.

“I-I’m coming!” he said to the nothing, still not opening his eyes.
________________________________________

Henry was locked in one of the first floor’s rooms. It wasn’t as cold there as it was in the corridor, but his eyes had not gotten used yet to the darkness around him. He was sure that stupid, little Johnny would take a long time to find him – he was but a coward fool. Henry had agreed with the other kids to make Johnny take the turn to count and look for them, for he knew he would be dreadfully scared to wander through the mansion on his own – especially in Halloween. The bad part was, Henry would not be there to see it.

They had gone into the mansion together. The leader, Bob, who was already ten years old, had ordered Johnny to wait outside in the garden and to slowly count to one hundred. ‘It’s a very big house,’ Bob had told him. ‘We need some time to hide.’

And it had been Henry the first one to get into that bedroom on the first floor. It looked like it had been prepared for a baby, so Henry had no trouble to get inside the wardrobe, since the clothes he found in there were so small, they seemed to belong to a toddler. He fit perfectly.

He didn’t know where his friends had hid, but he didn’t mind. He just wanted Johnny not to find him, so he’d stay in there as long as necessary. He felt warm and comfortable.

Suddenly, Henry heard something. It sounded very close to the wardrobe – too much. ‘He’s coming!’ he thought, shrinking, as if he were going to turn invisible. But still, he believed there was something weird about it. The noise had been produced in the very room, but Henry had heard nothing in the corridor. No steps, no voice, no creaking – nothing that would indicate that Johnny had made it there.

A shiver ran through Henry’s body. He remembered the stories he had heard about that mansion – they were all related to the ghosts that, apparently, lived there and that were especially noisy, and ‘alive’, if that was even possible, in Samhain. His parents had warned him many times to not go near the huge house in the corner, but he was already nine – he did not fear the chilling stories and rumors that were told in town. He had not been afraid as he approached the mansion with his friends, nor when he had been looking for a hideout, nor when he had been left alone in that bedroom.

Nor because it was Halloween.

He had not been scared... until the moment he’d heard that noise.

For the first time he hesitated about the veracity of the legends his neighbors told.

The he heard the noise again: it was the creaking of a chain. It sounded practically in front of him. Henry had no more time left to be scared, since the wardrobe’s door suddenly opened and the light blinded him.

He didn’t expect what he saw: a little girl holding an oil lamp.

An oil lamp? A little girl!?

Henry couldn’t believe his eyes. A little girl, who couldn’t be much older than two, had abruptly opened the wardrobe’s door.

“So who are you?” Henry asked, annoyed.

Was that the reason he had been frightened? Just a little girl who wandered around the house, maybe actually the owner of that room he had hid in? Anyways, wasn’t that mansion supposed to be abandoned since a long time ago? Where had that child come out from?

“Buzz off or I’ll be found because of you!”

He bent to make the girl let go off the wardrobe’s door – maybe her own wardrobe – and he grazed her hand. Or rather, he sensed her hand was there. He only felt cold and his fingers touched the wood instead of the kid’s skin – they passed through it and it made him shiver.

Henry moved his hand away as if it had been burnt. That dark-haired girl, with her glowing, blue eyes and her rosy cheeks, was not real. He could not touch her. She was pale and cold. He wondered why he hadn’t seen before the whiteness in her face, but she kept smiling and swaying the oil lamp she was holding.

“You’re not real,” Henry muttered, and he did because he intended to convince himself rather than because he actually believed it. “You’re not here, you – Go away once and for all!”

But the little child, instead of doing as he said, started laughing and she showed a row of perfect, sharp teeth. She extended her little hand towards the frightened boy as her face began to change...
________________________________________

It was too hot.

At least, she was too hot.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was hiding under a pile of clothes. Maybe.

Kim was getting tired of waiting. She had been sitting on that chair for a few minutes, covered by layers and layers of garments, and her legs were going to sleep – after all, she had remained in the same position for a long time. And she wouldn’t move, for she feared to leave any part of her body in sight.

Kim and her friend Dana had separated from their friends to investigate on their own, as they usually did. Their mission was to find two nice hideouts they could use in that incredibly huge mansion, so that little Johnny would have some difficulties to find them. They had gone through the ground floor together and they’d finally decided where to hide.

Kim had needed Dana’s help. Her friend had had it easier, but Kim did not, for she had to hide herself under a lot of clothes. What if a finger, a foot or a single hair of her head was left visible? Therefore, Dana had made her sit on a chair and had started throwing the garments on her, so that Kim was hidden from sight. It hadn’t been that hard, since she was too short in spite of being eight – it had been an unexpected advantage.

A few seconds later, Dana had run towards the place she was going to hide in, and Kim had been left alone since then. She was bored to death. Johnny did not seem to be looking for her – or, at least, he didn’t seem to be looking for anyone in the ground floor. And Kim was too hot, left alone in the darkness and silence...

A squeal.

Behind the door.

It was so sudden, so unexpected, that it made the girl jump, and she feared she could be seen now from outside. The door creaked and Kim was able to see the light among the clothing she was under. She stood quiet. She didn’t even dare to breathe.

When she least expected it, an invisible hand started putting those clothes away and Kim learned the game was over for her.

She just couldn’t imagine to what extent.

“It was about time!” she exclaimed as she put some garments away from her face. “I was starting to run out of air down there—“

She abruptly shut her mouth. It wasn’t Johnny who was in front of her, but a smiling, beautiful, dark-haired girl with sky eyes and an oil lamp in her hand. Very little, very short – very pale. Kim somehow knew such whiteness could not be something normal in someone who was in good health.

“Who are you?” she asked. “Where did you come from? And why are you so... pale?”

She extended a hand towards the kid’s face to take her temperature – but she couldn’t touch anything. Kim’s fingers were unable to touch the girl’s cheek – they only found emptiness and cold.

Before she had a chance to react, the smiling, beautiful child lifted her intangible hand towards Kim’s body...

Description
It was the most enchanted night of the year. Johnny walked slowly through the house’s garden, stepping nervously on each of the stones that formed the way to the door. The decreasing moon was shining behind the building.

He was shaking, but not because of cold. He was afraid. Which was an obvious thing, since he was only seven years old and he’d heard the mansion was haunted. Johnny didn’t like ghosts and he hated Halloween, but his friends had insisted on playing there that night, October the 31st, and had called him a coward when he had admitted to be afraid. Johnny wondered why he had done that. He should have said nothing about his dreads – then his friends would have not been able to mock him. The worst part was he had lost.

As an entertainment to spend a different Halloween night, the kids had suggested playing hide-and-seek in the abandoned house. The same house that, according to the people from the village, was full of ghosts. Johnny hadn’t wanted to come all along, fearing something bad could happen, but the others had started deciding who was going to be the searcher, ignoring his complaints. Only Dana had listen to Johnny’s words without laughing, but it had been useless – they were two versus three and the majority won.

So, after the four kids, including Dana, had gone into the mansion to hide, little Johnny had no choice but to obey and look for them.

He took two more steps. He was now in front of the enormous gate. He lifted his hand in order to open it, but deep inside, he hoped it would be shut, so he didn’t have to take part in such a hideous game.

The door opened a little with a single touch of his fingers. Of course, he thought: the other children had entered the house before he did so that they could hide. How could he have forgotten?

There was no turning back. He had to get in and start searching. He swallowed noisily and rubbed his hands to keep himself warm, and then, Johnny closed his eyes, pushed the door and finally got into the mansion.

“I-I’m coming!” he said to the nothing, still not opening his eyes.
________________________________________

Henry was locked in one of the first floor’s rooms. It wasn’t as cold there as it was in the corridor, but his eyes had not gotten used yet to the darkness around him. He was sure that stupid, little Johnny would take a long time to find him – he was but a coward fool. Henry had agreed with the other kids to make Johnny take the turn to count and look for them, for he knew he would be dreadfully scared to wander through the mansion on his own – especially in Halloween. The bad part was, Henry would not be there to see it.

They had gone into the mansion together. The leader, Bob, who was already ten years old, had ordered Johnny to wait outside in the garden and to slowly count to one hundred. ‘It’s a very big house,’ Bob had told him. ‘We need some time to hide.’

And it had been Henry the first one to get into that bedroom on the first floor. It looked like it had been prepared for a baby, so Henry had no trouble to get inside the wardrobe, since the clothes he found in there were so small, they seemed to belong to a toddler. He fit perfectly.

He didn’t know where his friends had hid, but he didn’t mind. He just wanted Johnny not to find him, so he’d stay in there as long as necessary. He felt warm and comfortable.

Suddenly, Henry heard something. It sounded very close to the wardrobe – too much. ‘He’s coming!’ he thought, shrinking, as if he were going to turn invisible. But still, he believed there was something weird about it. The noise had been produced in the very room, but Henry had heard nothing in the corridor. No steps, no voice, no creaking – nothing that would indicate that Johnny had made it there.

A shiver ran through Henry’s body. He remembered the stories he had heard about that mansion – they were all related to the ghosts that, apparently, lived there and that were especially noisy, and ‘alive’, if that was even possible, in Samhain. His parents had warned him many times to not go near the huge house in the corner, but he was already nine – he did not fear the chilling stories and rumors that were told in town. He had not been afraid as he approached the mansion with his friends, nor when he had been looking for a hideout, nor when he had been left alone in that bedroom.

Nor because it was Halloween.

He had not been scared... until the moment he’d heard that noise.

For the first time he hesitated about the veracity of the legends his neighbors told.

The he heard the noise again: it was the creaking of a chain. It sounded practically in front of him. Henry had no more time left to be scared, since the wardrobe’s door suddenly opened and the light blinded him.

He didn’t expect what he saw: a little girl holding an oil lamp.

An oil lamp? A little girl!?

Henry couldn’t believe his eyes. A little girl, who couldn’t be much older than two, had abruptly opened the wardrobe’s door.

“So who are you?” Henry asked, annoyed.

Was that the reason he had been frightened? Just a little girl who wandered around the house, maybe actually the owner of that room he had hid in? Anyways, wasn’t that mansion supposed to be abandoned since a long time ago? Where had that child come out from?

“Buzz off or I’ll be found because of you!”

He bent to make the girl let go off the wardrobe’s door – maybe her own wardrobe – and he grazed her hand. Or rather, he sensed her hand was there. He only felt cold and his fingers touched the wood instead of the kid’s skin – they passed through it and it made him shiver.

Henry moved his hand away as if it had been burnt. That dark-haired girl, with her glowing, blue eyes and her rosy cheeks, was not real. He could not touch her. She was pale and cold. He wondered why he hadn’t seen before the whiteness in her face, but she kept smiling and swaying the oil lamp she was holding.

“You’re not real,” Henry muttered, and he did because he intended to convince himself rather than because he actually believed it. “You’re not here, you – Go away once and for all!”

But the little child, instead of doing as he said, started laughing and she showed a row of perfect, sharp teeth. She extended her little hand towards the frightened boy as her face began to change...
________________________________________

It was too hot.

At least, she was too hot.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was hiding under a pile of clothes. Maybe.

Kim was getting tired of waiting. She had been sitting on that chair for a few minutes, covered by layers and layers of garments, and her legs were going to sleep – after all, she had remained in the same position for a long time. And she wouldn’t move, for she feared to leave any part of her body in sight.

Kim and her friend Dana had separated from their friends to investigate on their own, as they usually did. Their mission was to find two nice hideouts they could use in that incredibly huge mansion, so that little Johnny would have some difficulties to find them. They had gone through the ground floor together and they’d finally decided where to hide.

Kim had needed Dana’s help. Her friend had had it easier, but Kim did not, for she had to hide herself under a lot of clothes. What if a finger, a foot or a single hair of her head was left visible? Therefore, Dana had made her sit on a chair and had started throwing the garments on her, so that Kim was hidden from sight. It hadn’t been that hard, since she was too short in spite of being eight – it had been an unexpected advantage.

A few seconds later, Dana had run towards the place she was going to hide in, and Kim had been left alone since then. She was bored to death. Johnny did not seem to be looking for her – or, at least, he didn’t seem to be looking for anyone in the ground floor. And Kim was too hot, left alone in the darkness and silence...

A squeal.

Behind the door.

It was so sudden, so unexpected, that it made the girl jump, and she feared she could be seen now from outside. The door creaked and Kim was able to see the light among the clothing she was under. She stood quiet. She didn’t even dare to breathe.

When she least expected it, an invisible hand started putting those clothes away and Kim learned the game was over for her.

She just couldn’t imagine to what extent.

“It was about time!” she exclaimed as she put some garments away from her face. “I was starting to run out of air down there—“

She abruptly shut her mouth. It wasn’t Johnny who was in front of her, but a smiling, beautiful, dark-haired girl with sky eyes and an oil lamp in her hand. Very little, very short – very pale. Kim somehow knew such whiteness could not be something normal in someone who was in good health.

“Who are you?” she asked. “Where did you come from? And why are you so... pale?”

She extended a hand towards the kid’s face to take her temperature – but she couldn’t touch anything. Kim’s fingers were unable to touch the girl’s cheek – they only found emptiness and cold.

Before she had a chance to react, the smiling, beautiful child lifted her intangible hand towards Kim’s body...